Jemele Hill has a serious issue with Caitlin Clark, but it’s not from something she did or said, but from the media who covers her.
Caitlin Clark, the Iowa Hawkeyes superstar, is the biggest name in women’s college basketball over the past few years and it’s not even close. She has been billed as the female Stephen Curry and draws eyes to her just like him.
Not only do fans flock to see her, but the media coverage of her is insane, which is a problem for Jemele Hill.
The former ESPN host is arguing that the media covers white players like Caitlin Clark much more differently than they do with Black players.
“Everything about this sport has been trending up for years now. It did not just start with Caitlin Clark,” Hill said in an interview with Uproxx.
“A study I cited recently for a piece I wrote in The Atlantic [found that] when you compare [the coverage] of, say, someone like (Paige) Bueckers, Sabrina Ionescu, or Caitlin Clark to A’ja Wilson, who has dominated basketball at every single level. She’s probably the best player in the world right now. And I’m not trying to act like she gets no coverage, but the coverage that sometimes non-white women get, or specifically Black women get, is not even close. It’s two-to-one,” Hill added.
Hill further added that A’ja Wilson, arguably the best player in the world, deserved more coverage than what Caitlin Clark is getting right now.
“I mean, Aliyah Boston was the best player in college just a couple of years ago. And she did not get even a 10th of this media coverage that Caitlin Clark did. Now, some people would say, ‘Oh, it’s her game.’ But I don’t think it was that. She’s tremendous on television, and I’m thinking, What a missed opportunity for the national media to really elevate who she was as a person. Caitlin Clark seems to be a great personality, but it is not like Caitlin Clark is walking around saying crazy stuff. They’re just covering her excellence, and that’s good enough. Whereas it feels like for Black athletes to get the same amount of coverage or even fair coverage, there has to be something extra [beyond basketball].”
Clark is having a fabulous run with the No. 1-seeded Iowa in her senior year. The superstar guard has broken several NCAA records as she looks to add a National Championship to her resume before she departs to the WNBA after the year.
Despite what Jemele Hill may think, Clark will not only be etched in college basketball history for her incredible scoring feats but also for her overall impact on the women’s game.
Caitlin Clark is a ratings and attendance darling in college, and she can bring that excitement surrounding her to the WNBA and that is a good thing for everyone.
Not only can she be a draw for her home fans, but also for other fan bases on the road. The WNA is already trending upward and Clark will only help it go to even bigger heights with her presence.
Everyone should be rooting that she turns out to be the WNBA version of Stephen Curry.
FS1’s Joy Tayor got destroyed online following what turned out to be an unpopular take.
Taylor was discussing Caitlin Clark during ‘Speak’ this week when she claimed no one was talking about the former Iowa star before the 2023 national championship game, adding Angel Reese’s taunts are what actually made her famous.
“We were not talking about Caitlin Clark before Angel Reese walked up to her, did this [waving her hand], and pointed to the ring,” she said.
“This is not my opinion. I lived it. I watched it. It was recorded, it was broadcasted live. We were not talking about Caitlin Clark before that moment, and that’s OK. You can be extremely talented and not interesting.”
Of course, Reese is doing her part for women’s basketball, and her antics gave both players more coverage than they probably would have gotten otherwise.
But Clark was pretty well known before that 2023 loss. She had already grabbed the headlines with a 41-point performance against South Carolina in the Final Four that year.
